Chapter 4 - The Public Library
I opened my eyes and looked at Arthur with a sudden spark of genuine hope.
I remembered that my mother had worked as the head archivist at the downtown public library for thirty years.
My father used to joke that the safest place to hide a secret was inside a book nobody ever wanted to read.
Arthur grabbed my hand, and we sprinted back out to the idling sports car in the driveway.
We sped toward the massive, historic stone building of the central public library in the heart of the city.
The massive building was completely dark, surrounded by tall iron fences and locked for the night.
Arthur used a heavy tire iron from his trunk to completely shatter the glass of a side basement window.
We climbed carefully through the jagged opening, dropping down into the dusty, silent archives room.
The air inside smelled like old paper, decaying leather bindings, and ancient secrets.
I guided Arthur through the endless rows of towering metal bookshelves using only the dim light of our phones.
We finally reached the engineering section, a dusty corner that had not been updated since the late nineties.
I scanned the bottom shelf until I found a massive, unread encyclopedia of obsolete heating mechanisms.
I pulled the heavy book from the shelf, my hands shaking violently as I opened the thick cover.
The center pages of the massive book had been carefully hollowed out with a sharp blade.
Inside the hidden compartment rested a sealed, waterproof yellow envelope containing the original blueprints.
I let out a sob of absolute relief, clutching the fragile envelope tightly to my chest.
We finally had the exact leverage we needed to negotiate for my parents' lives.
But before we could take a single step toward the window, the harsh overhead fluorescent lights snapped on.
We were completely blinded by the sudden brightness in the dark basement.
The family attorney stepped out from behind a bookshelf, pointing a suppressed black handgun directly at Arthur.
He smiled wickedly, completely dropping the helpful, righteous persona he had worn at the engagement party.
He calmly thanked us for doing the hard work of finding the blueprints for him.
May you like
He reached his free hand out and ordered me to hand over the yellow envelope immediately.
I looked at Arthur, completely terrified, realizing that the attorney had been secretly working for Margaret the entire time.
